Flair for Fashion
by J. Maria
Summary: Dawn's new roommate is a little out there - she's blonde, she's bubbly, and her smile's a little plastic. Mystery crossover


Title: Flair for Fashion  
>Author: Jmaria<br>Rating: FR-15  
>Disclaimer: Joss owns his girl, Mattel owns theirs.<br>Summary: Dawn's new roommate is a little out there - she's blonde, she's bubbly, and her smile's a little plastic.  
>Words: 1,339<br>Challenge: 6213: Campus Housing  
>AN: Technically, this is inspired by a.) me finding old toys in my basement and pitching/keeping a few of them (and yes, I do have a zombiefied Stacie doll), b.) a conversation had at work between five co-workers & myself, and c.) Challenge 6213: Campus Housing. I'm not sure if this is done in the spirit of the challenge, as it's closer to my own views on the characters.  
>Right now, this is just a crazy, toy inspired one-shot. I have enough WiP's to sink a ship.<p>

_**Flair for Fashion**_

This could not be happening. Kit and Dawn exchanged a look over the heaping stacks of pink and purple matching luggage crowding the tiny hallway of their four person dorm suite.

"Teresa, you know I've always been fashion forward," came the sickeningly sweet voice from the open doorway to the left.

"Barbie, I think you really ought to have left a few of your accessories at home!"

"We're in the land of make-believe," Kit hissed at Dawn.

"Kit, shush!" Dawn elbowed her.

"OMG, Teresa!" the girl who obviously must be Barbie cried as she turned to face the newcomers. "You guys must be our new roomies!"

She was blonde, bubbly and had the brightest smile either girl had ever seen. They were definitely doomed. Barbie pushed her way out over the fifteen suitcases in the hall and pulled each girl in to a huge hug. Kit narrowed her eyes dangerously at Dawn during her hug.

"You must be Katie and Dawnie!" Barbie laughed.

"It's Kit," Kit's eyes got even narrower, which was a sight Dawn had never thought she'd see.

"And Dawn."

"Oh! I'm Barbie, and this is my BFF Teresa!" Barbie nodded back to the trendy Latina smiling as widely as she was. "Did you guys go to the same high school like we did?"

"Schools, actually."

"Oh wow, you went to middle school together too? So did we!" Barbie's smile got wider.

"No, high schools - as in three," Kit muttered. "Our first two blew up and burned down."

"The third's still standing," Dawn elbowed her.

"Oh," the plastic smile was starting to melt a little. "So, Dawnie -"

"Dawn."

"Sorry, _Dawn_," Barbie's smile snapped back too damn quickly. "It looks like you and me are going to be roomies!"

"Say what now?" Dawn blinked. "But Kit and I -"

"I know! Me and Teresa were so super excited to be roomies and then the RA said there was a mix up and we got swapped. Luckily, we're all in the same suite. Isn't that just super?"

"Yeah," Dawn said woodenly.

"Come on, _roomie_, I'll show you our new home!"

Kit covered her snicker as Dawn was dragged into the other room. And then she remembered the fashion clone with dark hair was going to be her roommate. Teresa gave her a knowing smile.

"Don't worry, I'm like Barbie, but I'm not as bubbly as she is," Teresa sighed. "And I never have as many clothes as her."

"Thank the goddess," Kit muttered.

"Everybody loves blondes," Teresa sighed again. "I'm hungry. Wanna go get a salad in the quad? Barbie'll be a while."

"Yeah."

While Kit and Teresa made a mad dash away from Barbie's chattering, Dawn was mentally stabbing herself in the head. She just _had_ to come back to California.

"And this is my family, although, Mommy and Daddy are going to have to get a new one made up! The silly photographer cut them out of it!" Barbie giggled.

"Holy crap, you have a big family!" Dawn blurted out as she glanced at the picture.

A chubbier Barbie sat in the middle next to a younger teen girl. On either side of them there was a dark haired boy and another blonde girl that both looked to be about eleven or twelve. Standing in front of them were two little girls, both blonde that looked about six and three. Sitting in Barbie's lap was a tiny blonde baby, and on either side of the pre-teens were the shoulders and torsos of two adults. Barbie's smile took on a strained quality as Dawn inspected the family photo.

"That's my teen sis, Skipper," Barbie pointed out. "Next to her is my pre-teen sis Stacie, her twin Todd is next to me. My little sis Chelsea is in front of Todd, and - my preschool sis Kelly is in front of Stacie. And our baby is Krissy. Our baby _sister, _our little surprise!"

"Wow," Dawn fought not to roll her eyes. That was her baby all right, not her _sister_. But she had to be nice. She was stuck with her for at least a few weeks, if not the whole semester. "It's just me and my older sister in my family. And my sister's friends."

"Oh, what happened with your parents?" Barbie made big sad eyes, obviously thrilled to have the focus off her 'sisters'.

"They divorced, and my mom died," Dawn didn't really want to talk about it. "But our friends make up for it."

"I know, right?" Barbie giggled. "Aren't friends fabulous?"

"Totally," Dawn rolled her eyes as Barbie turned away to answer a knock at the door.

"Hey, Barbie, where do you want this stuff?"

Dawn's head whirled around to face the two guys standing in the doorway with big pink boxes in their arms. One was blond with a model's face, the other was a black guy - also with a model's face. And neither one seemed intimidated by being seen with the pink boxes. Something wasn't right here. And it had nothing to do with the eerie flashback she had to Riley and his friend Forrest.

"Oh thank you, thank you thank you!" Barbied gushed as she clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh! You can set them right there!"

"Hi!" the blond beamed at Dawn as he set his box down just inside the room. "I'm Ken, Barbie's -"

"Boyfriend!" Barbie beamed as she rose up on her tip-toes to kiss Ken on the cheek. Dawn caught the slight flinch at the contact. She also noted the other guy's eye roll.

"Hi, I'm Dawn. Barbie's roommate, I guess," Dawn tried hard not to laugh. She turned to the other guy. "And you are?"

"Steven, I'm Ken's _friend_," Steven smiled ruefully as he stretched out a hand to her.

"Steven! You're more than just that!" Barbie beamed. "He's also my friend Nikki's boyfriend."

"Oh, small world," Dawn blinked at her. _There's more of you in denial about your 'boyfriend's' sexuality._

"Ken's gonna help me set up the furniture. Did you wanna help me put away my clothes?" Barbie asked.

"Uh, you know, I actually have to run over to the bookstore to get the last couple books for my class before they close, so I can't," Dawn made an 'aw-shucks' face, which Steven seemed to find funny because he was covering a grin.

"Oh. What's your major?" Barbie asked suddenly. Her brain went about 70 miles an hour.

"Language Arts and Cultural Anthropology," Dawn frowned. "Why?"

"I'm not focused yet, and there are so many good careers out there for a go-getting girl like me," Barbie said brightly. "It's so hard to pick out just one!"

"Right," Dawn cleared her throat. "So, I'm gonna run now. I'll see you later."

"Bye! Be careful! Oooh, I know! We can have a Girls' Night Out this week after classes start!"

"Sounds like a plan," Dawn called over her shoulder, ready to get the hell out of there. She didn't notice the shadow she'd gained in her hasty escape.

"She's a bit overwhelming," Steven said on a chuckle.

"A _bit_?" Dawn shook her head. "Does she really have no clue that you and Ken are a couple?"

"She knows," Steven sighed. "She's the only one who thinks she can change the fact."

"And Krissy is -"

"She's not Ken's," Steven winced. "Despite the fact that she and her biological sister Kelly are named after him, neither one of them are his kids. He can't get it up around her."

"So who's -"

"Don't know. Heard it was a soldier on shore leave, but she never gave Nikki or Teresa the details," Steven shook his head. "Girl's living in denial on a lot of fronts."

"Living with her is gonna be a pink nightmare, isn't it?" Dawn sighed, leaning against him as they waited for the elevator.

"She's not so bad. She's a lot peppy, and she always gets us in to the coolest places," Steven shrugged. "Makes up for all the pink and all the denial."


End file.
